"Demote me?" Jasper asked. "That is the most insulting punishment... I'd just as soon leave the Order and be a rouge. If master Gravinustus wishes to duel me, then afterwards, I challenge you to duel... if he doesn't wish, then let it begin immeadiately."

Jasper turned to Itreya. "Don't worry about me... I'm not as easily as defeated as some of these people think. The worst that will happen is that I'll leave the Order... but don't worry about that. I wouldn't think that someone that was nominated for Grandmaster would demote me... I think he would be rather... annoyed at another Jedi telling him what to do." Jasper smiled and his eyes glowed gold. "I'm glad you think so highly of me, but I WANT to do this... I've wanted to spar against him ever since I was a padawan. I have a few tricks up my sleeve..."

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve..." Cam laughed. Yea, I'm sure you do. Maybe you could really learn something from this, Jasper, like she said. Maybe not to be such an arrogant little....

Camevon wasn't exactly sure why he had so much disdain for him. He loathed the other's seeming arrogance - for that was what he considered it to be, just arrogance and feeling of superiority. While some part of him supposed that he might be slightly harsh in his judgment, and that Jasper might not actually be the kind of person he thought he was, Cam still disliked him. He saw the recent scene as merely another show of Jasper's arrogance and attention-grabbing.

A blinding pain entered his forehead and he gasped, shuffling away from the door so that he would not be heard. Rubbing his head, and trying to soothe the pain with the aid of the Force, he opened his eyes, seeing little black spots swim in his vision. After the few moments of incredible pain subsided, shook his head, and steadied himself.

Cam sighed in relief as the pain went away. Not the first time, he told himself. This had happened before, and he was not unduly worried. Cam remembered the pain when he had experienced it as a young child, still growing up, away from the Jedi Order. Absently he wondered if it was some kind of head injury he had received that caused the headaches, or if he had some kind of disorder.

At the moment, he didn't really care. The pain forgotten, Cam almost smiled as he remembered when the Jedi had first found him. His past was never something he wanted to overly dwell on, but there were always those times when it came rushing back to him. They had come, he had been found force-sensitive, and they had taken him. Away from the oppression, away from the small dirty town that he had been born in, away from arrogant and corrupt leaders.... away from his family.

At first, Cam had felt a feeling of excitement unrivaled by any that he had previously felt. And what had there been to be happy about in that small village? Finding enough food to survive for another day? Hearing the machinations of the greedy to strip all they could from the struggling farmers just to get as much money as they could?

And, after a while, the excitement had faded. He was very strong in the force, almost immediately taken by one of the Masters. He was proud of that. And yet, Cam still felt lost. Even here, even in the Order, even after the Grandmaster died, he still felt petty jealousy and arrogance.

Or was he wrong? Was he merely feeling emotions that were not there? Cam realized that he could be wrong, but... the Force was giving him these feelings. If he didn't trust the Force, then.... Cam shook his head. He was second-guessing himself. The only thing he could rely on was the Force. Even more than any of the Masters here, even more than his own Master.

For some reason, he felt closer to the Force than any other person alive. He couldn't bring himself to become truly one of them. Cam couldn't recall ever "liking" someone. All he remembered was respect, or no respect. Perhaps his Master. But then again, that could just be that he had so much respect for his Master he mistook it for friendship. Because all he respected was his power and their wisdom - as a person, he hardly knew him.

It doesn't matter. As long as I find the path I'm supposed to take, I won't be lost anymore. And with that resolution, Cam returned to the door to listen more intently.

Location: Doesn't matter. The question u should be asking is "where r u?"

Posts: 2,602

"For having such a great and wise mind of a Jedi Knight, you sure don't seem to like being left out of the loop at all, do you?" Asked a voice which used small strange muffled and mechanical tone. Turning around would show the voice belonged to Mike. Beneath his mask, the Nautolan smiled at the sight of the Jedi Knight's ease dropping. Mike knew little about Camevon, expect of his rank and that he was the apprentice of Jedi Master Jason Travestnie, something Mike envied him for. Not because who his master was, but because he had a personal master to train him. Mike on the other hand was trained by everybody and nobody. During his time in the temple, he had only learned the Jedi way through group training sessions, holocons and practice.

"So have they had made an overall decision?" Mike asked stepping forward, following the knight's example and giving in to his curiosity.

Gravin’s demeanor had not so much as shifted an inch since the beginning of this meeting, and one could begin to wonder whether or not it could change. This was reinforced by when he spoke, for his tone held none of anger or surprise, but just calculation and observance.

“Though it would suit us better off to demote the Knight Vontrapar, considering the premature age at which he appears to have been promoted to his standing, I will spar with him.” Gravin replied and then motioned to the Council with his hand. “But first we must deal with the current matter at hand.”

Onuu was in utter shock, his uncle was dead! Like that he was gone, and nobody felt the need to tell him. Half the people in the room knew he had been on a surveillance mission gathering Intel on the sith, and that he had no way of communicating, no way of receiving a transmission to tell him of his uncle's death. Yet they acted like he was supposed to know, and just unashamedly vote for a new Grandmaster like it was no big deal, they acted like he, Onuu, didn't care, like he didn't matter all because he wasn't related to the Grandmaster through blood.

Then again, since his uncle had no son, he himself was supposed to be next to be Grandmaster, ((Sorry for saying this, but that's true, in Arthurian legend, Gawain was next in line for the throne, but he never took it up though. )) but he would feel absolutely horrible if he accepted that role. Senior Master Gravin was the oldest Master in the order, or so he recalled, he was the deserving one. But with his mind in such a shock from the sudden news, Onuu wasn't thinking clearly, he didn't want things to change, he didn't want anyone taking his uncle's place. And most of all he felt appalled, and absolutely ashamed of the Masters as they squabbled over who would be next in line for Grandmaster, had they forgotten he was in the room?

In Onuu's eyes they had degraded themselves lower than even the sith, they were dishonorable, degenerate fools, and they soiled his uncle's honor and memory by even holding this meeting. Onuu stood, many Masters grew quiet, he simply began walking towards the door.

"Master Onuu, are you alright? You haven't cast a vote yet," one of the masters spoke out to him.

"I'm not going to," he replied solemnly. "I'm ashamed to even call myself a Jedi, let alone a Master right now with all of you disrespecting my uncle," he told them, the Masters whispered to themselves as he said this.

"We haven't disrespected him, we honor him, and hold him in our hearts as we discuss who shall succeed him," said another Master.

"That's it! You shouldn't be discussing it, it should have been known and decided the moment my Uncle died who would succeed him. You show a great lack of faith in the Force and it's will," Onuu retorted rather calmly, but accusingly. "And Knights," he said, pointing an accusing finger at Jasper. "Should not question the decisions of their betters," he said, still his voice calm, but there was a threatening undertone. It seemed Onuu had already figured out that Jasper had been smart mouthing the Masters and their decisions since the Grandmaster's death.

"You may all think I am acting out rashly, and like a child I throw a tantrum at the knowledge of my uncle's death. But I say no. I am acting as I acted so many years ago when I met the challenge of the Strange Force Wielder who shamed and dishonored my Uncle in his very presence. If it weren't for the fact that you are all of the Jedi Order, I would challenge you all, just as I challenged that man, who's title only I know," he told them.

"You should all feel ashamed, especially for putting forward Jedi Knight Travestnie as a candidate. He denounced himself, and I agree with him, he has neither the full skill, nor wisdom to deal with the position of Grandmaster. I don't say this to degrade his honor and skill as a Jedi, on the contrary, I feel he is very deserving of the position of Master, but to put him so readily forward as Grandmaster was just pure ignorance and stupidity, and whoever did nominate him should feel the greatest shame of all," Onuu said to the quieted congregation of people.

"I had no intension of preaching to you all, so I must take my leave before I shame myself further," he said, walking slowly towards the doors. "But if you must have my vote," he said, his hand on the door. "Then I nominate, myself," he spoke in a neutral tone.

The masters gasped and began mumbling and whispering amongst themselves with great shock, as if it were the greatest sin in the world to promote one self's own position, as if he were being selfish. In all truths this was to the contrary, he was after all, the Jedi of Purity, he did not believe in the selfish promotion of one's own power and position, he only did this to honor his uncle, by stirring the masters to action, as words would get them nowhere. And as all these events occurred, Onuu only stared at Master Gravin, who sat quietly, observing the situation. Master Onuu held more respect for Master Gravin than anyone else, as he was a respectful person in his own right. He knew that he would win the nomination to Grandmaster, this situation would only help that fact, and he would gladly serve Gravin.

He gave Gravin a small nod, and turned to leave, only to pause again to look at his Aunt, the Grandmistress. He gave her a long hard, and sorrowful stare, before he shook his head as if to say that he was ashamed of her the most. And then he left. He wished Senior Master Gravin the best, and if by some miracle of the force he himself was voted to become Grandmaster, he would readily decline and give the position over to Senior Master Gravin.

As he closed the door behind him, Onuu realized that the two seasoned knights were gone, and that they had been replaced by a curious juvenile knight, and a padawan. He stared at each one quietly, his face blank. He moved past them without a word.

He paused, "don't get caught." He said to them in a quiet and sad voice, moving off towards the Youngling Quarters, where he could drown out his sorrows in the innocent joy of the children, they were after all, the wisest of all people.

The silence that followed engulfed the room, wrapping us in a funeral shroud. The shroud, however, was not for the Grandmaster, but for all of us in the Jedi Order. Master Onuu's words had rung so true that no one stood to speak--or dared to breathe. We were all to blame for this dishonor of our leader and his sacred memory. How had we succumbed to bickering and powermongering so soon after his death?

"It is I who shoulder the greatest responsibility," said my Lady, the Grandmistress. "I should have trusted in the words of my husband's Page and nominated Gravinustus immediately. The Force works in mysterious ways, and through holding this meeting, I've shown a supreme lack of trust in its will. Master Onuu is correct in that we have behaved in a manner worthy of Mandalorian raiders, not Jedi Knights and Masters. Thus, I shall bring this Conclave to a close in short order. No other outcome will do.

"The nomination of Master Gravinustus to take my husband's place has been formally moved and seconded. No other Jedi Master has received a seconding of his or her candidacy. Does anyone else wish to do so?" She raised a thin eyebrow. More silence. I couldn't tell whether we were silent from shame or if we had nothing more to say.

"Then, in Severinus' name and that of the previous Grandmasters of the Jedi Order--and especially in the name of the Force--I hereby proclaim Master Gravinustus, known as Gravin, as Grandmaster of the Jedi Order. Go in peace, and may the Force be with you." She lowered her head and hands, looking very much like an aging widow.

"Mistress?" I asked, timidly stepping to her side. I lay my hand upon her upper back, and I noticed that even though she was trying to hide it the best she could, she was trembling. I felt the weight of sorrow pressing on her spine, threatening to crush it.

"Stand down, Itreya," she said sadly. "If you wish to watch the duel, then you may do so, but as for me, all I will say is that I hope the discipline and respect we all share--or shared--will soon return. Go and see Onuu when you can. I'd like to hear his preliminary report on the Sith, although he may be insulted that I didn't come myself."

"Very well, my Lady. As you wish," I replied, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of my stomach. "I don't know if Onuu knows me, my being your humble servant, but I am a Knight as well. I serve the Force as well as all of us and need to hear such news."

"The duel, the duel!" she cried, her head jerking upward suddenly as if out of a trance. Several Jedi Masters, most of them in fact, were clearing out of the Council Chamber, forgetting they would watch and assess the skills of the Knight in question. "Knight Vontrapar, if you are ready, you may take position on one side of the circle, and Master--Grandmaster Gravinustus--will take the other. Itreya? What say you?"

"I will watch if the combatants wish it," I answered sadly, "but I would fain (rather) see Master Onuu as soon as possible. Jasper? I am ashamed of what we all have done. My advice to you is to stand down, for my sake and that of all of us. Would Grandmaster Severinus have wanted a sparring duel to take place on the very evening of his death? I think not. I'm sorry--I'm just so--why, why did he have to leave us?"

"Excuse me," said the understated voice of the Padawan Page who had announced the dire news that had unsettled us all at breakfast. "My lady Linieva? It seems...it seems that your husband's body has not yet become one with the Force. I am sorry."

This time, my Mistress did not care if she hid her tears or not, and summarily wept.

I bit my lip. What would Jasper do, and Master--Grandmaster--Gravinustus?

Even though Camevon never was good for social interaction, he welcomed the chance to talk to someone. "Quite a bit has happened," he responded quietly. Mike joined his side at the door. "Onuu just came in extremely angry and berated everyone for even daring to nominate my Master Jason, if I heard him right." Cam scowled. "Then the arrogant little schutta nominated himself."

To be truthful with himself, Cam realized that he really had never met Onuu before this instance, and it might be a bit selfish to judge him so soon, but.... Onuu had irritated him with his remarks toward Jason. And he had become irritated even more with the apparent arrogance that had, yet again, reared it's ugly head.

"But, it seems that they've finally nominated Gravin. And, for his first act as Grandmaster, he's going to start by dueling Jasper." He smiled grimly at Mike.

Master Onuu sat on a bench, his smile was small, but full of warmth as little younglings clambered around him, trying their best to catch his eye and grab his attention.

"Masta On', Masta On', looky here, looky, looky!" Said one overly excited Twi-Lek child, as he attempted to balance on a window ledge, which was fortunately low to the ground, which meant Onuu had little worry about the young one hurting himself.

"That's good little one," Onuu praised the child, who smiled the biggest smile he could, as he was proud of the Master's praise. "Okay everyone, time to show Ol' Master On' how much you've improved since he was gone," he said to them.

They squeeled with excitement at this opportunity to impress the Master, though in most cases they wouldn't have liked to do such a thing, Master Onuu, or Masta On' as the little ones had dubbed him, was one of the few people they enjoyed practicing and training with, as he made everything fun for them.

Onuu smiled to himself, and chuckled as the younglings shuffled around aimlessly trying to figure out their positions. But his smile faded as his thoughts ventured elsewhere. He was thinking of the meeting, had he really done the right thing? And was his uncle really gone? If so, why did he have to go? Onuu was very sad, and very weary. Onuu leaned back and gave a sigh, aimlessly fiddling with the folds of his auburn robes with crimson trim, which he had changed into before going to see the youngling, as blood soaked garments were not the best thing to speak to younglings in.

"Masta On'? Masta On'!" One of the younglings shouted, snapping Onuu from his trance. Onuu stared at the half-hazard formation of younglings as they stood with their little practice sabers, and their blinder helmets. Onuu laughed, "okay kids, let me help you there."

Master Onuu got up from the bench, and walked over to the children, and began herding them around into their proper places. 'I wonder if my Aunt will come and see me? She should after all that ruckuss in the Council Chamber,' he thought to himself as he ushered the young ones around.

"But in you...I see the potential to see the Force die, to turn away from its will..."
"You are beautiful to me, exile. A dead spot in the Force, an emptiness in which its will might be denied."
"But no Jedi ever made the choice you did. To sever ties so completely, so utterly, that it leaves a wound in the Force..."
"I would have killed the galaxy to preserve you...You are more precious than you know..."-now...it's verbatim!-A quote from Darth Traya (Kreia)

Silence. The weight of it oppressed me, far more than even the blazing words of Master Onuu had. Now there was to be a duel--sparring duel, but a duel nonetheless. What had this Order come to when we settled all our problems through lightsabers? Mayhap we had always been this way, and I had been too naive to realize it before.

"Itreya, I tire of this," said the Grandmistress, seeing that neither Master Gravinustus nor Knight Vontrapar had made a move to begin sparring. "I wish to hear the report from Master Onuu about the Sith, and I feel my talents would be better served there. As for you, keep an eye on things, and I shall communicate to you through the Force. We have a keen connection, you and I, a bond of friendship and apprenticeship. I shall sense your alarm if this sparring duel becomes more than that." She turned to leave.

"My Lady has spoken," I said as I brandished my dvukhplanochniy, my double-bladed lightsaber. Its silver beams split the air with a quick whiff of ozone and chill. "If this duel turns into more than a test of skill, I shall be forced to intervene with mine."

Ah! Nephew--it is good to see you again. The Grandmistress' thoughts spoke. Please forgive me for that outrage of a Council meeting, which disgraced the memory of my husband and your uncle. I've left my servant in charge of the farce that is to take place between Grandmaster Gravinustus and Knight Jasper Vontrapar. Hopefully, this will teach them all a lesson in humility, for they would dare not harm each other. As for me, I wish to hear your intelligence report on the Sith. What are their plans?

Grandmaster Gravinustus stood and walked over to the other end of the circle, dropping his robes in the normal ceremonious manner and unsheathing his lightsaber. It split the air to form a dark sapphire blade, and he held it in a single-handed low guard, with the blade angled downward at his side: the opening stance of the Makashi form, or The Way of the Ysalamiri.

The use of this form was probably a bit much, considering the likelihood of the opposing Knight actually knowing it as well and being able to counter it, but the last thing he wanted was a prolonged duel, as he had other matters to attend to, which included the training of his own students. So he stood with his lightsaber drawn, waiting for the Knight either to step forward and duel or back down.

((sorry guys, can't post now, I'll come back and edit this post later with something, we've got tornado warnings and watches all over the state, last night I had to go to bed because today I had All-State Choir tryouts and I had to be at the school by 6:20, and then I just got home because of the tornados. I've got homework and a lot of other junk to do... so yeah.))

(OOC: Since there's no duel going on as of yet, Itreya's going to slip out for a bit...)

I sighed. Since when was it my duty as a Jedi to overlook the shenanigans of two perfectly capable Jedi? I wanted to hear Master Onuu's report on the Sith just as much as my Lady did. I cast a weak Force field around the two to hold them in place, knowing full well that it only lasted five minutes--which I hoped would be enough...

"Pardon me, Mistress and Master Onnu," I began, "but I wish to hear of the Sith."

Onuu smiled at his aunt. "Sit," he stated, motioning to the bench. Onuu looked to the younglings, who waited patiently for his instruction. "Continue young ones, I can multitask," he said kindly.

"Pardon me, Mistress and Master Onnu," a young woman, his aunt's apprentice he recalled called out. "But I wish to hear of the Sith."

"There is no fault in your request child, come, sit on my other side," he said, motioning to his left, to the only empty space left on the bench. Onuu squeezed his shoulders together, looking rather sheepish, he was worried he would knock either his aunt or her apprentice off the bench with his broad shoulders.

"Now, onto the..." Onuu was cut short again as a tiny trandoshian child approached him, sucking it's thumb, it held it's free hand out, indicating he wanted to be picked up. "Oh, you want on the bench too? Well, seeing as you're too young to use the practice sabers, I guess you can. Come here," he said, reaching down and lifting the child onto his lap.

Onuu paused, he had a humorous look of confusion on his face, which many of the other younglings giggled at, as some peeked out from under their blinder helmets. "Where was I?" He asked rather sincerely, he had almost forgotten what he was about to say. The young trandoshan child lightly smacked his cheek with his tiny hand, and made a strange sign with his fingers.

"Ah yes, the Sith. Thank you Gelissh," he told the young child.

Onuu suddenly got a very stern look on his face. "The Sith....are, at best, strong. How strong, I can not rightly guess. They are growing, becoming bold. So-much-so, that they are sending some of their more skilled members to, 'infiltrate,' the Jedi Order."

Onuu sighed, looking at his aunt in a grieved manner. "The dark side is growing; it is clouding our vision in the force, and cluttering our thoughts. Even now it grows in the back of our minds, knawing [sp?] at our thoughts, making our judgement foggy. We have demonstrated this by our lack of confidence in the Grandmaster's final decision, and our total immoral shunning of the Force's will."

Onuu paused yet again, looking at the younglings as they practiced. "Our order stands on a razor's edge, I feel it, though even I am uncertain because of how the dark side clouds the force. We must be extremely careful. Be cautious my aunt," Onuu finished with a grim look set in his face. Onuu heard a noise below him, and looking down he noticed Gelissh asleep in his lap. This softened Onuu's features, and he smiled, "for the young's sake, we must be cautious." He whispered to the two beside him.

Onuu looked up at his aunt, holding out a small pyramid shaped object. "I've recorded everything in full detail on this. Look at it when you have time," Onuu told her.

"But in you...I see the potential to see the Force die, to turn away from its will..."
"You are beautiful to me, exile. A dead spot in the Force, an emptiness in which its will might be denied."
"But no Jedi ever made the choice you did. To sever ties so completely, so utterly, that it leaves a wound in the Force..."
"I would have killed the galaxy to preserve you...You are more precious than you know..."-now...it's verbatim!-A quote from Darth Traya (Kreia)

"I shall," replied my Lady, the look in her eyes as grave as the one in Master Onuu's. She took the holocron into her palm with a frightened clutch, almost as if she were afraid to touch it. "This news is dire," she said, "and if anyone else were to hear of it right now, the Order might be thrown into utter pandemonium for more than a day. Of course, it might strengthen our resolve to fight these Sith, but our resolve is weak."

She cleared her throat. "I meant to say my own resolve is weakened. Forgive me. I shall return to my senses ere long. As for you, Itreya, have you any questions?"

"I--!" I didn't know what to say. Hesitantly, I brandished my double-bladed silver saber after taking several steps back from the Younglings. Biting my lower lip, I started to perform the series of combat stances required for one form, and one form only...

"Sed'maya," I said. "Form VII. Juyo, Ferocity. I have a feeling I might--need it."